I'm Still Here
by crystallica81
Summary: Jim Hawkins has messed up again. Now, fed up with his antics, the cops decide to ship him off to community service on a spaceship known as the R.L.S. Legacy. Ellie Flint is a cabin girl on the R.L.S. Legacy, hiding a dark secret under a pretty face. A story of love, adventure, and discovery of who you are inside.
1. Chapter 1

I'm Still Here—A fanfiction

_ELLIE_

_Don't Let Him Find Me_

_Run_.

Run as fast as you can.

And don't you look back.

Ellie. Ellie, do you hear me? _Don't look back_.

Just go somewhere. Anywhere.

Don't let him find you. Because if he does—

Watch out.

And Ellie? Don't forget me. Now, go.

_Run_.

Ellie woke up, drenched in a cold sweat. The fourteen year old girl was breathing hard, freaked by her strange dream. Her long brown hair clung to her body in sweaty, uneven clumps. She pushed a heap of hair out of her sea blue eyes and blinked. Her entire room was blurry. She blinked several times.

The smell of sweat and purp juice filled her nostrils. She inhaled slowly and let it out. She walked to the door and climbed up the creaky wooden stairs to look out at the deck. Her eyes burning with pain.

The dream was still so fresh in her mind.

A woman, who's face was so blurred out she couldn't tell who it was, was shaking a small child with light brown hair. "Run," she was telling the child. "Don't let _him _find you."  
Ellie knew who _him _was.

It was her father.

_Nathaniel Flint. _

Some said he was still alive. Some said his ghost still haunted his grave in the heart of Treasure Planet. But he was dead. And so was her beloved mother, who had died trying to protect her from the evil alien man.

"Eleanor."

Ellie turned. Amelia Smollet stood there, her elongated green cat eyes blinking at her in confusion.

"Sorry," Ellie apologized. "I needed a breath."  
"Are you alright?" Amelia, in her flawless British accent, walked up close to her and put a thin arm around her, pulling her to her side.

"I'm okay."  
Amelia looked down at her. "If you're sure, Eleanor," she said softly. "Go see Silver. He'll make you feel better, eh? He always does."

Ellie looked up at her. "He's asleep."  
Amelia chuckled. "Don't worry. He won't be mad."

Ellie walked into Silver's quarters down by the galley. His huge substantial body, most of which was his enomous pot shaped belly, was jiggling up and down as he snored, huge loud thunderous snores which made the pans on the shelves vibrate. His room smelled like old clothes.

"Silver," said Ellie, poking his arm.

Silver batted his huge hand at her. "Go away."  
"Silver, I need to talk to you."  
Silver's cyborg eye opened slowly, a mechanical hiss giving way through his metal sockets. His human eye stayed shut. "Does it have to be now?"  
Ellie sighed. "It was the dream again."  
Silver sighed, and his human eye opened. Slowly, grunting, the enormous figure sat up slowly. His mechanical body parts creaked.

"Aagh," Silver said, disgusted, looking down at his parts. "I'm _rusting_. Get me my oil, won't you, like a good lass."  
Ellie went and got the bottle of oil. Silver began oiling his metal joints. "Alright, lass. Tell me what happened."  
Ellie sat down next to him on his strong, well-weaved latticework hammock. "It was my mom again. Telling me to run. From Flint."  
"Ah, Flint," said Silver disgustedly, shaking his head. "That bozo's gonna burn in hell, rest assured. He did a lot of bad things to you."  
Ellie nodded. She remembered the scars.

"_Will you ever steal food again from Mr. Silver?" Flint grabbed her arm, pinching it, holding a knife in his other hand, the one that never left his belt. _

_A four year old Ellie was screaming. Flint's poor wife was screaming, too, for him to let go of her baby. _

"_Will you ever steal food again? Say no! Say it, Ellie! Say NO! Apologize to Mr. Silver, NOW!"  
"S-s-sorry!" Ellie sobbed, feeling the smart of Flint's hand as it struck her. "Say you will never STEAL!"  
"I will n-never s-s-steal food, Mr. S-silver!"  
Finally, Flint released her and she fell to the ground, sobbing. Flint finished and disappeared outside. She remembered Silver bending down, hugging her, promising that if she was ever in trouble, to come to him. He said, "It's okay, Ellie. Don't be scared of Flint. He's just angry."  
"What about the swelling, Silver?" her mother had asked. _

_Silver had sighed. "The swelling will heal, but her mind will always carry the images."  
_

"The scars," Ellie said, her voice shaking.

Silver looked up at her. He sighed. "I'm so sorry, Ellie. I mean, I'm sorry they never went away, did they?"  
Ellie bit her lip. "I could've lived with the scars, Silver, if the images just went away."  
Silver shook his head. "Heaven help us, Ellie. I never understood your father."  
Ellie shook her head. "I never had someone understand me completely. Other than you. I meant someone my age, Silver."  
Silver smiled. "I know what you mean. I don't know, Ellie. School might be a step straight to the grave for you. Your past is just too..._graphic _for that. We'll see in the days to come."  
"Will I ever stop remembering him?" Ellie wanted to know in a small voice.

Silver stood up finally, putting the bottle of oil down. "I think something will happen, Ellie."

"What?"  
"In the next few days. To make you forget him. To give you a new thing to be happy about."

Ellie smirked. "I highly doubt that."  
Silver grinned. "Now mark me, lass. Am I ever wrong?"

_JIM_

_Community Service Sucks_

"I cannot believe this would happen, Delbert," Sarah Hawkins said, shaking her head. "Jim is just so very smart. I mean, he built his first solar surfer when he was eight! Yet he's failing school and constantly in trouble with the police. I just don't know what to do!"  
Delbert Doppler, sitting at the front table in the dining room with astrology books piled up on his desk, nodded sympathetically. "I don't know how you do it, Sarah. Running the inn, and trying to raise a felon...er, _fellow_ like Jim."  
_Yeah. Don't think I didn't catch that, Delbert. I'm not a felon! And there was nobody around. Those cops just won't get off my back_. Jim Hawkins stared down into the window and then looked away, heaving his whole body in a sigh. He picked up a pebble from the little pile near him on the roof and vaulted it into the distance until it disappeared into the horizon. "One for every bad thing," he muttered vaguely. "That's happened to me in my life."  
He picked up one, looked it over. "My dad left." He threw it.

He picked up another. "I got arrested this morning." He threw it.

He chuckled sarcastically. "I'll be here for the rest of my life if I'm gonna say every bad thing that's happened to me."  
Jim sighed again, staring into the coal-smelly darkness of Montressor City.

"Jim?"

He looked up. "What? Where are you?"  
His little sister poked her head out. "Over here."  
Jim glanced over at her. "What?"  
"Are you mad?"  
Jim sighed. "No."

Jane tucked a wisp of hair behind her ear. "Kayley says you're mad."  
Jim turned to her. "Kayley's a lying little twit. Don't listen to what she says."  
"Belle says you're mad."  
Jim threw his arms in the air. "I'm not mad, Jane. Wouldja just _get lost_? Just go."  
Jane blinked. "But I want to be here with you."  
Jim shook his head. "_No_. Please just go."  
"But—"

"I want to be _alone_!" Jim yelled.

Jane just stood there, looking very small.

Suddenly, sirens filled the air. Jim looked around. A cop car was flying into the driveway. "Oh, crap," Jim muttered.  
Jane looked up at him, her eyes huge. "Jim? Is there something wrong?"  
He looked down at his five year old sister. "No, everything's fine."  
He squatted at the edge of the roof.

"You say that all the time," Jane said quietly. "to hide the fact that nothing's okay. Everything is _not _fine."  
Jim looked up at Jane. Her eyes were scared.

Jim shook his head. "Come here."

Jane crawled forward into his arms. Jim jumped to the ground, hurried back inside the inn.

Sarah was speaking to the two cops, One and Two, that had arrested him for solar surfing before.

His two sisters, Kayley and Belle, were sitting at the front table with Delbert, their eyes wide.

He set Jane down to the ground slowly.

The cops were giving his mom something. A pink slip? No, a neon yellow one.

A neon yellow? Was this some kind of a _joke_?

Sarah closed the door. Then she turned around, kind of shocked to see him. She crumpled up the paper and threw it across the room. She stalked up to Jim and grabbed him by the arm. "Why?" she screamed. "Why do you do this to me? To us? It's bad enough your father left us, why do you have to be this extra burden?"  
"Mom!" Belle was shocked.

Delbert stood. "Sarah, let go of him—"

"Do you see what's happening here?" Sarah sobbed, shaking him hard. Jim bewildered, just looked at his mother. "Your third strike was this morning! And you just got yourself a one way ticket to a correctional facility on a ship! They're taking you out into the Etherium and you'll be back...when? When you're...eighteen, that's when!" Sarah shoved Jim back. He staggered into the table. Kayley's amber eyes were wide.

Delbert walked to Kayley. He was calm. "Take Jane and go to your room," he said evenly. "I'll fix this, don't worry."  
Kayley looked at Jim, her eyes terrified. She grabbed Jane's hand and they hurried up the stairs. Sarah was crying into Belle's shoulder. Belle's brown eyes shot daggers at Jim.

"Sarah, you mustn't do that," said Delbert in a soft, soothing voice. "You mustn't do that. Be strong, dear. You're alright."  
Jim just shook his head.

"Go!" Sarah screamed. "Go pack! They'll come for you tonight!"  
"Belle, go help him," Delbert whispered.

Belle broke away from her mother, who collapsed against Delbert. Belle grabbed Jim's arm and pulled him up the stairs.

"Isn't it bad enough Dad left?" Belle whispered as she pulled out his suitcase. Still numb, Jim just stared at her. "What're you doing?"  
"_Packing_," Belle hissed venemously. "What are _you _doing? I'll tell you. _Nothing_. So pack!"  
"Where am I going?" Jim whispered.

Belle sighed. "On the slip it said, "R. L.S. Legacy. Cabin Boy Opening."  
Jim choked. "_Cabin boy_? For three years?"  
Belle shook her head. "Jim, you just couldn't stay out of trouble, could you?"

Jim tried to explain. "Belle, I'm _sor_—

"Forget it." Her eyes blazed, and tears slid down her cheeks. "We can say goodbyes later."  
As he threw clothes into his bags, he heard a noise near the door. He turned to see Kayley and Jane staring mournfully at him, holding each other's hands.  
"See," Jane said softly. "Everything is _not _fine." 

_ELLIE_

_All Cabin Girls Need Help Sometimes_

"What do you mean we can't leave?" Amelia was yelling at Arrow. Arrow, a substantial man who towered over even Silver, shrugged his muscle-bound shoulders. "I don't know. A bunch of them robot police, Cap'n. Said we have to take someone along."  
"But why in Queen Anne's name would we take someone along who's not part of the crew?" Amelia hissed, showing off her pointy fangs.

"Me," came a deep voice.

Amelia and Arrow turned. Ellie, who had been watching the argument while dumping out lunch remains into an open garbage disposal, turned as well.

Silver stood there, wearing his huge apron, stirring something in a pot.

"And why, Mr. Silver," said Amelia, her voice dangerously low. "would you do something like that? We're at a food shortage as is."  
Silver jerked his chin toward Ellie confidently. "She needs a friend," said Silver. "Someone who understands her."  
Ellie's mouth fell open. "You're not pinning this on me! I didn't _ask _for you to conjure up a friend! I just said I never had someone understand me completely. Except you."  
"You wanted someone your age!" Silver babbled.

"_No_, I didn't want one!" Ellie shot back. "I was just stating a _fact_, Silver!"  
"Let's calm ourselves!" Amelia barked. "There will be no fighting on this ship! Listen, if you invited a good girl, who will make herself useful just like Ellie has, then things should be alri—"

"See, Cap'n," Silver said sheepishly. "That's the problem."  
Amelia turned. "Oh, no," she said. "Silver, what have you done?"  
Silver held up his hands. "Nothing. Not a big deal, actually. The notice in the paper asked for a _cabin boy_. Not a _cabin girl_."  
Amelia started. "No! Absolutely not! Cabin boys are _huge _perverts. I will not have a cabin boy. We have Ellie, and she's diligent enough to be the only cabin girl for a long time."  
"Help would be nice," Ellie said.

Amelia rolled her eyes. "Very well, if you could use the help," She glanced at Silver. "And if you, Silver, are willing to use the extra hand."  
"Absolutely." Silver nodded.

Amelia sighed. "Do you think he's a good boy?"

Silver shrugged. "I assume so."  
"If he's nice," Ellie said with a smile. "We'll keep him. And if he's not, well..."  
"We throw him out like the trash he is." Amelia smiled with pride and headed to the Captain's post.

"He'll be great, I assure you, lass," Silver said with a grin. "I set up the notice in a very well-looked part of paper, and there were lots of notices around the city. He'll be the best. Handsome, hard-working, well mannered—"  
"Hey, Mister."

Silver turned. "What the galver—"

"Yo, over here."

Silver turned and looked down. A boy who looked about Ellie's age except a bit taller was standing in front of him, a crude bag slung over his shoulder.

"Riff raff, on my ship!" Amelia exclaimed. "No, no, we'll have none of that."  
The boy raised his eyebrows. "Hey, you're a cat lady!"  
Ellie giggled.

The boy glanced her way and he smiled a tiny smile.

Amelia glared. "I'm the commanding captain on this ship. And I beg to ask, what are you doing here?"  
The boy held up the notice. "Here."  
Amelia's green eyes scanned the paper. "Hmmm." Suddenly, her eyes widened and a gasping sound escaped her lips. "_You _are our new cabin boy?"  
The boy nodded. "Afraid so."  
Amelia shook her head. "Heaven help us." She clucked her tongue. "Well, boy do you have a name?"  
"Jim."  
Amelia raised a thin eyebrow. "Surname?"  
"Hawkins."  
Amelia nodded. "In the near future, Mr. Hawkins, you will address me as 'Captain' or 'Ma'am,' is that clear?"  
Jim stared at her grimly, then rolled his eyes.

"Mr. Hawkins?" Amelia prompted in that dangerous voice.

Jim looked at her. "Yes, ma'am."

Silver was training Jim all afternoon and didn't get to talk to Ellie.

Ellie was carving huge orange vegetables, peeling off the skin. It was a dull, tedious process, and she was scalding them in hot water. The boy, Jim, seemed nice enough. He was just quiet and a bit mysterious.

Ellie kept looking at him. She never barely ever seen people like her before.

He had a little braided ponytail in the back of his head, and dark brown bangs. His eyes were a beautiful blue-gray that carried depth and secrets within them. His left ear was pierced with a little gold hoop, and he wore this trademark brown jacket that smelled like the insides of a bakery.

"Why don't you help Ellie with the vegetables?" Silver told him at last.

Jim backed away slowly. "Alright."  
He sat down on the other side of the tub. "Hey."  
Ellie looked up. "Hey."

The sleeves of her loose shirt were rolled up, and her shorts were scrunched up around her thighs as she knelt and carved the vegetables.

"Dip them in water," Ellie instructed Jim. "Then start peeling off the skin. Then cut off the hard parts. It's called 'carving.'"

Jim nodded. They carved in silence for a while, and Ellie caught Jim staring at something. She looked down. _My chest_?

But then she realized what it was. He was looking at the scar on her wrist. _Crap_. She only rolled up her sleeves when no one but Silver or Amelia were around.

Quickly, Ellie set down the orange vegetables and began to pull her sleeves down.

Jim broke away his glance and looked at Ellie's hurt face and began to carve again.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said in a gentle voice. "I didn't mean to—"

Ellie felt ugly and horrible. "It's okay," she said sharply. She just wanted to pretend this didn't happen.

"So," Jim said quietly. "How'd that happen, anyway?"

"What?" Ellie looked up at him, her eyes glistening.

"The scar," Jim said in a faint voice. "How'd you get it?"  
Ellie shook her head. "Look, I don't want to talk about it."  
Jim looked up. "I just wanted to know..."

Ellie got up, threw the knife down, and disappeared up the stairs, eyes pricking. She walked into her bedroom, slammed the door, got into her hammock, and cried.

Over and over, she wished for her father, Nathaniel Flint, to die in the cruelest ways possible, slashed by thousands of knives till his entire body was covered in scars.

Just like the ones she had.

It was dark and past midnight when Ellie woke up.

She was _starving_. She had no food since earlier today. She went out to the deck to take in a breath of fresh air. She had not slept for fear of the horrible nightmares that might come, so she went out. Amelia was not at her post. So she must be sleeping. Ellie felt horrible deep inside. Using her thumb, she traced the scar on the inside of her wrist. Her eyes filled with tears as new memories filled her.

"_Silver! Silver, Nathaniel's finally coming back after the treasure hunt. I don't want him to hurt Ellie; let him do whatever he wants to me. But can you just keep Ellie with you for a little while?" A tearful Natalie asked.  
Silver had sighed. "Well, Natalie, I'll try. As long as Flint doesn't come here."  
Natalie nodded. "I'll stall him at home. Here, take her."  
"No, Mommy!" Ellie had screamed. _

"_Shhhh, shhh," said Silver reassuringly as Natalie left his apartment. "Sit here on my lap and I'll read you a story. Which one? Cinderella? Snow White? Sleeping Beauty? Which do you want?"  
"The Seven Pirates!" Ellie exclaimed, tears gone. _

_Silver smiled. "Sure, it's your favorite, isn't it? Which pirate is your favorite?"  
Ellie giggled. "Red Jack," she said. "Because I like the secret powers his amulet has. You know what I want for my birthday?"  
Silver lifted her up. "What would you like for your birthday, Princess Ellie?"_

"_I'd like an amulet like Red Jack has."  
"Did you ask your daddy for it?" Silver asked. _

_Ellie sniffled and her eyes filled with tears again. "I asked him, and he hit me. He said he'll never get me anything. Last birthday, he gave me three coins, but then stole them away."  
"Ohhhh," Silver let out a long breath. He wrapped his arms around her. _

_Ellie blinked. "Can _you _be my daddy, Silver?"  
Silver smiled. "I'll be your daddy, Ellie. I'm here for you, no matter what. I love you."_

"And _you'll get me that amulet?"  
Silver chuckled. "I can't promise anything, but I sure will try."  
_

Ellie realized she never did get that amulet. Silver just seemed to forget, not that he didn't love her or anything. He always gave her coins, to "save up for the future."

Ellie took a breath as salty space air washed over her.

"Hey, you okay?"  
Ellie turned. Jim Hawkins was standing next to her, wearing his trademark brown jacket. Ellie blinked. "I'm fine. Why are you up?"  
"I'm not sleepy," said Jim with a frown.

They both stared into the distance.

"Uh," said Jim quietly. "About the scar. I—uh,-I—sorry."  
Ellie looked at him. He seemed genuine. She sighed. "It's okay. I'm...pretty sensitive. _I _should say sorry."  
Jim laughed. "No!"

Ellie laughed too.

Then they both sobered and became quiet again.  
"Do you miss them?" he asked softly.

"Who?"  
"Your family."  
Ellie grew bitter. "This _is _my family, Jim. I have no other home."  
Jim seemed not to listen. "I feel bad. I didn't get to say a proper goodbye. To mine, I mean." There was silence, and then Ellie broke it. "How'd you get here? Who sent you? It's clear you'd rather be anywhere but here."  
Jim chuckled. "That obvious?"  
Ellie shrugged. "I guess."

Jim sat on a barrel with a grunt. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Community service." He spat that word into the darkness. "I got arrested because I violated my third strike. I was solar surfing in a restricted area. The old Mills."  
He looked at Ellie, who glanced at him. "What's solar surfing?"  
Jim's eyes widened. "You've never heard of it?"  
Ellie shook her head.

"Ever?"  
"No."  
Jim laughed. "I've got to show you sometime. We can go together. It's a bit scary, but you won't be afraid. You're not scared of heights, are you?"  
Ellie giggled. "Me? No."  
Jim smiled. "Then I can show you. Are you afraid of falling?"  
Elie's smile faded. She faltered, remembering.

"_If your doll fell," snapped an irritated Nathaniel Flint. "Jump into the water and get it. Don't just cry about it."  
"Daddy, can you get it?" sobbed Ellie. "I don't know how to swim."  
"How in heaven's gates' name do you think _I _do?" raged Flint. With a single shove, he knocked his daughter down off the edge of the steep cliff straight into the water. Gasping and spluttering, Ellie grabbed her doll. From that moment on, she had been afraid of falling—with no one there to catch her. _

Ellie swallowed. "Falling?"  
Jim looked at her, touching her hand. "Ellie?"  
Ellie jerked out of her trance. "Um."  
"You _are_," Jim said, his voice softening. "It's okay. I won't let you fall. I keep my sisters safe while I take _them_. And my old girlfriends, I kept them all safe."  
Ellie stood. "Tell me more about solar surfing. And your family. You like coffee?"  
"I gue—"

Ellie grabbed his hand. "Come to the galley. I'm gonna make you coffee. Then we'll talk."  
Ellie turned the atmospheric converter on, watching the rubber balloon fill with water from the air. When it was full, she removed the balloon off the nozzle and poured it into a metal jug, which she fitted into the complicated insides of a front table. She pressed a green button and the table began whirring and making machinery noises. Ellie got out two ceramic mugs.

"Like cream and sugar?" she called over her shoulder.

"Love it," Jim answered.

Ellie took out milk and sugar and walked back to the table. "Help yourself when the coffee's ready," she said, flipping a switch. A metal cylinder flask rose out of the table, whirring.

There was a slight ding, Ellie tilted the flask forward, opened the flip-top lid, and poured two steaming mugs of black coffee for them both. Jim spooned sugar and milk into his, while Ellie did the same. She pushed the button again, and the flask vanished and the machine shut down.

"There's enough for Silver," Ellie reasoned. "For breakfast."  
The two sipped coffee and sat in silence.

"So," Ellie said softly. "Your family. And solar surfing."  
"There ain't nothin' like it!" Jim slammed his mug down. "The wind in your face, the amazing speed, the height you go off the ground, and the sensation of almost-falling. Then you catch yourself! It's just..._AMAZING_!"  
Ellie sighed. "Yeah. It must be fun. Tell me about your _family_. It's been so long since I've had one," she added. "At this point, I'd take any. I don't care how they are."  
"I thought _this _was your family," Jim pointed out.

Ellie twirled her hair. "It's complicated."  
Jim nodded. "I understand. A real one. With brothers and sisters and a mom."  
Ellie smiled slightly. "Yeah. Exactly."

"Somewhere to feel you belong."

"Check."  
A place to call home. Never to move about."

"Check."  
"And a place you don't have to _work _to _stay_."  
"Check."  
Ellie smiled at him. Jim nodded and took another sip of coffee. Ellie twisted a lock of her brown hair, laced with a beautiful reddish gold caramel tint, several delicate wisps of hair settling over her forehead, touching her thin arching eyebrows.

Ellie sighed. "Anyway, tell me about your family."  
Jim raised his eyebrows.

Ellie tilted her head. "What're they like? You have brothers? Sisters? Mom? Dad?"  
Jim laughed. "Whoa, slow down. Alright, so I got three sisters, but no brothers. Jane is the youngest, she's five. Kayley's thirteen, and Belle's sixteen. And my mom, her name's Sarah."  
Ellie leaned forward. "And your dad...?"  
Jim looked away. "He's gone." He paused and looked back at her. "Your dad and mom? Where are they?"

Ellie felt a shiver run through her. "He's...dead."  
Jim looked at her, surprised. "Oh."

"My mom's dead, so please don't ask about that either."  
Jim nodded. "Right. Okay."  
They sat in silence for a long time.

"Your dad," said Jim quietly after a pause. "Was he...nice to you? I mean—I never really had a good dad, so—"

"Oh!" said Ellie, her mind racing.

"_But Daddy! Elena bought me this dress! Please don't make me throw it away!"_

_Flint had growled at her. "Fine. Keep the damned dress. But that bracelet—it has to go. Now. Give it to me."  
"No!" cried Ellie. "It's special!"_

"_Take it off, or I'll _cut _it off!" Without a warning, Flint had struck out and cut the thin silver bracelet off, slashing the inside of her wrist. Blood had flowed, and that was how she got the scar. _

Ellie took a deep breath. "My dad was wonderful," she said softly. "He always bought me a lot of stuff, beautiful dresses. Pretty bracelets. He always took me shopping and to movies, and read me stories at night."  
Lying through my teeth, thought Ellie sadly. Despicable.

Jim nodded. "Sounds cool."

"Yeah," said Ellie. The memory had stirred her so much.

The coffee cup fell out of her hands and smashed straight to the ground.

_JIM_

_Fine—Don't Tell Me_

"Ellie!" Jim leaned forward, putting the ceramic mug down, and staring down at the shards of coffee cup littering the ground.

"Ohmygosh," Ellie breathed. "I am so sorry, Jim!"  
Jim grabbed her arm. "Are you okay?"  
Ellie's eyes filled with tears. "What's _wrong _with me?" Ellie got down on her hands and knees, grabbing a towel from the countertop and began to scrub at the floor.

"Nothing, nothing, nothing's wrong," Jim got down on her hands and knees with her. Ellie collapsed, her hair falling down over her shoulders, her red-gold-brown bangs slipping over her eye.

Ellie stood. "I just—I don't know what came over me—I just had this memory of my dad and I just—"

"It's _okay_," said Jim reassuringly. "No problem. Here." He reached for the towel. He took it from her and began scrubbing.

Ellie stood up, clenched her fingers against her shorts.

Jim looked up, laying the towel in a faded heap on the floor. "Hey. It's okay. Don't—"

"I just have these—_memories_," Ellie whispered, her vision blurring. "They just—I don't know what happened."

"It's no big deal!" Jim exclaimed. "It's just a cup of coffee." He took her arm. "Okay? Ellie?"  
Ellie just turned and walked away, heading for her room.

Jim was mopping the front deck when Ellie finally came out again, late that afternoon. Silver gave her a huge pot full of the wastes from lunch, and Ellie began dumping it into a garbage disposal. She was silent, wiping her brown-red-gold straight hair off her forehead.

Silver came back onto the front deck. "Ellie!" he called.

She turned.

"I have something to tell you," said Silver. He sounded grave. Ellie stood up, stopping the dumping. "What?"

Silver beckoned. Jim raised his head, watching them go.

Silver yanked Ellie into the back. He was murmuring something. Ellie's eyes widened bits at a time, then she gasped audibly. Jim's head snapped up. "Silver?"  
"Nothing!" Silver and Ellie said at once.

Jim looked back down.

He had no place looking into something he wasn't wanted in.

_ELLIE_

_Just Let The Dead Rest_

"Are you positive?" Ellie exclaimed.

"Quiet," hissed Silver, keeping an eye out for crew members. "And, yes, I am. They want to see his grave. Make sure he's dead and the like."  
"But to _dig up the body_?" Ellie sighed. "Can't they just let dead rest in peace?"  
"Huh." Said Silver grimly. "We're talking about a _pirate crew_, Ellie. They want to see if there's coins on him."  
Ellie shook her head. "Well, I'll stay on board."  
Silver shook his head, too. "There're bad things on Treasure Planet, Ellie. Bad things I can't leave you alone with. I'm gonna need you to come."  
"No!" Ellie shouted. "_No_, Silver! I _cannot _see him again. I've just—my entire life was _ruined _because of _him_. I cannot go back to that life by looking at him."

"Heaven's gates!" Silver said, exasperated. "He's a dead body. Show some compassion."  
"Compassion," Ellie said sarcastically. "Yeah, Silver. That's exactly what Flint showed to me."

Silver sighed. "Come on now, lass—"

"So let me review," Ellie said.

Silver scratched the back of his neck. "Ellie..."

"We're docking tomorrow in _Treasure Planet_ to look at _Nathaniel Flint's _dead body, and to possibly _recover money _from his corpse. And you expect _me, _the daughter that he hated and abused every single day, to come along on the joyride."  
"Yes," Silver said weakly.

Ellie looked up at him. "Silver."  
"Mmm?"  
Ellie blinked her cloudy vision away. "Silver, I'm _scared_."

Silver softened. "Of what, Ellie?"  
"People say he's still alive. People say his ghost haunts Treasure Planet. What if he—"

Silver barked out a laugh. "I assure you, lass, Flint is as dead as roadkill."  
Ellie sighed. "Silver, I don't want to do this."  
Silver touched her chin and tilted her face up. "I'll be with you. And maybe it would help to tell Jim. Do you think he'd understand?"  
Ellie looked down. "Maybe."

Silver nodded. "He's supposed to be your friend. So go bond." He gave her a friendly shove. "And what we've spoken here is strictly confidential, Ellie."  
Ellie nodded. "Okay."  
"You gonna be okay?"  
Ellie took a deep breath. "Yeah. I'm gonna be just _fine_."  
"Oh," said Silver. "And before I forget. We'll be docking in Notre Dame before we head south to Treasure Planet. You can browse around or something." Silver poked her shirt. "Go and buy yourself a pretty new dress or something."  
"I'm broke."

Silver shook his head. He reached into his pocket and pressed a bunch of coins into her hands. "Here. Now you're not broke anymore."

Ellie sighed. "Alright, Silver. Alright."

_JIM_

_Notre Dame_

"What's this place called?" Jim looked around in awe.

Ellie smiled. "Notre Dame. It's where there's all these political issues are. Controversy because of the gypsies."  
"Gypsies," Jim repeated. "They're the dancers, right? The really good dancers?"  
Ellie nodded. "Right. Notre Dame is swarming with them. The president here, Claude Frollo, wants to get rid of them."

"Huh," Jim said with a smirk, jumping over the side of the ship effortlessly, landing with a grunt. Ellie grinned down at him, finally climbing over the edge and jumping. Her foot slid down as she landed hard on her it.

With a cry of surprise, Ellie fell against Jim, falling over his chest. A gasp of surprise left her. Jim smiled and helped her up. "Whoa. You okay?"  
Ellie felt a blush creeping up her cheeks. "Yeah. Yeah." _Why did she seem so freaked all of a sudden?  
_The two of them sauntered down a cobblestone street with Jim looking around curiously.

"Hey!" Ellie cried, pointing. "That store! That dress! That's my mom's dress!"  
Jim turned.

"The blue one," Ellie whispered. "It belonged to my mom. They must've retrieved it from our house after I left and my mom died."

They walked up to the window and looked inside. Ellie stared longingly at the dress. "That price is way higher than what my mom bought it for," Ellie said sadly. "The world's changed."  
Jim looked at Ellie. He touched her shoulder for a second.

Ellie sighed. She reached into her shorts' pocket and pulled out the coins Silver had given her. She counted them and subtracted them from the price. She shook her head. "I'm short."

She pocketed the money with a forced smile and gestured. "Come on. Let's look around some more."

"Uh," Jim said. "I want to buy something for my sisters. Do you think you could spare some time?"  
Ellie shrugged. "Yeah."

Jim went in, buying dresses for Belle, Kayley and Jane one by one. A purple one for Jane, an orange dress for Kayley, and a pretty green one for Belle. Finally, he bought a sapphire colored one for his mom. He still had some money left over from his paycheck from Silver.

"Ellie, can you wait outside?" Jim asked. "I just need to use the bathroom. I'll be right out."

Ellie nodded. "Absolutely."

She exited the dress shop, pushing the door open.

Jim quickly hurried to the dress.

But another girl poked her head out from behind it. A girl wearing a poofy dress with red dreadlocks and another girl who looked like her Siamese twin, with short poufy black hair tied with a green silk bow. They looked like ugly princesses, and the redhead was clutching the dress tightly with her spindly fingers.

Jim cleared his throat. "Uh, I was gonna buy this."

"You?" sneered the redhead. "You're nothing but street trash; you can't afford this. And anyway,dresses are for _girls_."  
The black haired one snickered.

Jim frowned. "It's not for me. It's for my..." he looked out the door at Ellie, twirling a flower between her fingers.

"My girlfriend." He said finally, blushing.

The redhead pulled the dress off the stand. "Sorry! Already taken."

He noticed the shopkeeper, a kindly old man with glasses, was watching him with sympathy in his eyes.

"Please," Jim tried. "My girlfriend really deserves this."

"I don't think she does," said the black haired one. "And by the way," she added, shooting him a sly smile. "If she ever dumps you, I'm available."  
Jim made a face. "Egh."

"Drisella, don't be _stupid_," snarled the redhead. "You could never go out with trash."

Jim glared at the redhead.

"Don't be mean, Anastasia," snapped Drisella. "I think he's cute. Don't you?"  
Anastasia sighed heavily. "I guess. Not as cute as the prince."

Jim shook his head. He crossed his arms and moved away. He really wanted to do something special for Ellie and get her the dress. To see her gorgeous smile light up her face when she saw the gift.

Jim saw the two flouncy annoying girls carrying the dress away.

He headed for the door, about to push it open, when he heard the shopkeeper say loudly: "Sorry, ladies, this here dress is already paid for by that young gentleman."

Jim whirled around in surprise. The shopkeeper looked at him quickly.

"No!" screamed Anastasia. "We already have it!"

"But he already paid."

"NO!"  
"I'm sorry," said the shopkeeper. "It was _reserved."_

"Oh, my," said Drisella. "Are you a prince?"  
"No," Jim said softly, approaching the counter and hastily shoving his pile of coins towards the shopkeeper who smiled and swept it into a drawer.

Anastasia and Drisella flounced out the door.

Jim looked up at the shopkeeper. "Um—about the dress—and the two girls—um, thanks."

The shopkeeper winked. "It's alright. Them two girls are always here. Yelling. Botherin' the customers. They think they're it because they're filthy rich. It's 'bout time someone showed 'em who's boss. You're a good lad. What's your name?"  
"Jim."  
"I'm Gepetto. It was very nice meeting ya, lad. I hope yer girlfriend is happy with yer gift."

Jim smiled. "She will be. It was her mother's."

Gepetto's eyes widened. "Natalie Flint's? That's her daughter?"  
Jim nodded, then his eyes grew wide. "Wait, Natalie _what_? Did you say Flint? As in, _Nathaniel Flint_?"  
Gepetto nodded. "Aye. See, she was—"

"Jim!" Ellie burst in. "Are you done going to the bathroom yet? We don't have much time before the Legacy takes off."

"Sorry, sir," Jim said apologetically. "I really have to go."  
"Wrap the dress now?"

Jim glanced at Ellie, who had stepped out again. "Nah. Package it and send it to the Legacy, please. Say it's for Ellie."

Gepetto nodded. "I hope she loves it."  
"She will."  
Jim started off. "Good luck, lad!" yelled Gepetto.

"Bye!" Jim called back, and left the dress shop, pulling Ellie down the streets. "Come on."

"Where?"  
"Anywhere."

"How 'bout a bookstore?"  
Jim made a face. "Perfect."  
Ellie led him into a worn, dusty bookstore. "Let's look around some."

Jim wandered through the shelves aimlessly. Reading wasn't really his thing. Until he turned and spotted a familiar book sitting in the Children's Section.

Treasure Planet.

His mother had read this book to him countless times when he was little. He laughed and picked it up, sitting on the windowsill. "Ellie!"  
Ellie appeared. "Hey, you found a book!"

"A little kid book."  
"Which one?"  
Jim held it out. "See for yourself."  
He opened it, and the images began flying off the page. The deep, dark narrator's voice filled the bookstore.

Ellie narrowed her eyes. "Which book is this?"

Jim smiled and tilted his head. "Aw, come on, I'm sure you've heard it before. It's the most common book this side of the galaxy."

"I don't want to—"

" '_Like a Canarian zapwing overtaking its prey, Flint and his band of renegades swooped in out of nowhere,'" _ The dark narrator in the story read.

"Stop," Ellie begged.

" '_And without a trace,_'"

"Please!" Ellie cried.

Jim pointed, and the monstrous Flint turned around with those six cruel eyes glowing and sparking. Ellie let out a shriek and slapped the book out of his hand onto the floor as it monotously growled the last remaining word in the section:

" '_Gone_.'"

"Ellie," Jim looked utterly dismayed. "What's the matter?" He leaned over and picked up the book. "What're you, scared of Flint or something?"  
Ellie turned, eyes welling up, and stomped out of the store, slamming the glass door as she went.

Jim raced after her. "Ellie, wait!"

"Leave me alone!"

"_Wait_. Hey!" Jim finally caught her arm. "Why'd you run off that like?"

Ellie pulled away. "I'm going back to the Legacy."  
Jim stared after her in disbelief. "Are you serious? Ellie, what's _wrong _with you?" He rushed after her, trying to catch up with her again. "Was it...was it the book?"  
Ellie turned. "Forget it."  
"Wanna have lunch or something?"  
"There's no time, Jim."

"Please?"  
Ellie turned. His eyes were wide, and he stretched out his hand. "Stay, Ellie. Stay with me."

Ellie swallowed. She walked toward him and took his hand.

Jim smiled. "Even if there's no time, will you have some lunch with me?"

Ellie gazed at him. "Yeah, yeah. I'll have lunch with you."

Banjo music drifted through the square, and crowds of people began to flock in an area sandwiched between two buildings. A raggedy boy was keeping lookout. A goat with a pierced ear was lying next to a funny purple hat, which had a few coins in it.

"Ma, can I please go put some coins in that gypsy's hat?" begged a little town girl, tugging on her mom's hand. Her mom looked at the dancing gypsy and yanked her daughter away.

"No, no, Marti," her mom scolded. "We don't want to give to gypsies. They're _bad_, remember?"  
"Aw, please, Ma, look at the goat! See how cute it is?"  
"No, it's not. How about I buy you a little kitten instead?" Without a reply from the little girl, the mother pulled her away.

"Huh," said Jim with a snort. "How come that girl's mom won't let her drop a few coins into the gypsy's hat? No big deal, right?"  
Ellie shrugged. "Political differences."  
Jim and Ellie melded into the crowd.

The dancing gypsy girl was happy and beautiful, her face pleasant with high cheekbones and smooth nut brown skin and merry emerald green eyes in the shape of almonds. Her eyes laughed as she looked at Jim. She whipped out a silver scarf with moons and stars on it, and began to twirl it in midair. With a single whip, she fashioned into a loose noose, and threw it lightly over Jim's neck. She pulled him forward into her inner circle, and began to dance, pulling the scarf away.

"Dance with me," she sang, as the banjo man laughed and played louder.  
Jim shook his head, held his hands up. "Sorry, I don't dance."  
"Come on!" the gypsy cried. "Just listen to the music and _dance_, cute guy!"

Jim finally gave in and began to dance.

It looked like they were havin fun.

Ellie felt a twinge of something. And she wasn't sure what.

Finally, Jim broke away and headed back into the crowd. The crowd had started clapping in time to the banjo man's music.

Suddenly, the raggedy boy rushed into the square. "Esmeralda!" he screamed. "The soldiers heard the music. They're comin!' We gotta go, _now_!"  
Esmeralda rushed off her stage, but not before blowing a kiss to everyone in the crowd, especially to Jim.

_ELLIE_

_Back Off—He's Mine_

Jim pointed. "There's the Legacy. I think we'll be able to make it back before Silver blows a gasket."

Ellie laughed. "Right."  
As they walked, they passed an old beggar woman wearing a dark cloak. Jim tossed in a few coins casually as they walked by. The beggar woman looked up, and Ellie was surprised to see a gorgeous young face underneath. It was a familiar face.

"Well, hello!" the girl rose up, smiling at Jim. She elbowed past Ellie and stood between them two.

"Hi," Jim said pleasantly.

"I'm Esmeralda."  
Jim grinned. "Yeah, I know. I danced with you earlier, right?"  
Esmeralda gave him a catty smile. "So you remember me?"

She was wearing a white blouse over her substantial chest, and a sloping purple skirt with gold tassels sewed to the edges. Her curly black hair was pulled back with a pink headband.

She linked her arms through Jim's. "Where're you headed, cute guy?"  
Jim smiled. "Hey, I got a name, Esmeralda. I'm Jim Hawkins."  
"Jim. I like it."  
Esmeralda walked along with him for a while, Ellie lagging behind with only thoughts that confused her racing through her head.

_Gypsies are such huge flirts. _

_Esmeralda is a skank._

_Why is she choosing Jim to flirt with? Can't she just go pick someone off the street?  
Back off—he's MINE._

The thoughts confused her, and Ellie was unhappy with them.

"Well," said Esmeralda finally. "Glad we could have this convo, Jimmy."  
Jim smiled as if it was his birthday.

Esmeralda leaned forward and her soft full lips brushed Jim's cheek.

Ellie's face burned. "Well," she said to Esmeralda. "Are you gonna leave or what?"

Esmeralda glanced at her, but kept her lips on Jim's cheek. She made a tiny smacking sound and removed her lips, hiking up her sloping skirt. "What, little girl, are you trying to get rid of me?"  
Ellie felt a spark of anger. "I'm not little. I'm fourteen."

Esmeralda laughed viciously. "Fourteen is what you call little, honey."

She gave Jim a smothering hug. "Maybe we can see each other again someday, gorgeous," she said sweetly.

Jim nodded. "Maybe."

Esmeralda turned, waggling her fingers sexily at him. She faded like a shadow angel into the city, never to be seen again by Ellie and Jim.

"Wow," said Jim.

Ellie blinked. "What?"  
"_Wow_."

"Wow what?"

Jim whistled a low note. "Wow, Esmeralda. She's really somethin', isn't she?"  
"No," said Ellie.

_JIM_

_I Checked Them All_

Jim lifted the mop out of the bucket, muttering swear words incoherently under his breath.

He and Ellie had gotten back late, and the Legacy was off-schedule on their planned trip. Amelia had been cross.

But Silver had been angry.

"Jim-_bo_!" he had announced. "I got two friends I want you to meet." He had pulled out two items from behind his back. "Meet Mr. Mop, and Mrs. Bucket," he had shouted, throwing him the mop and bucket, which would have flown into space if Jim hadn't caught them. "Now you swab this deck till I can see my face in it!" he had yelled, and and turned to Ellie.

"Now for you! You mop the other side. And you don't get any special treatment either!"

Pulling faces, the two of them had mopped all day.

Now as the sky turned dark, they were still nowhere near done.

"Ellie," called Jim. "It's getting cold. You wanna go in and get some coffee or something?"  
"Silver said to finish."

Jim shrugged. "I'm cold. Aren't you? You're in a tank top. I've got a shirt on and I'm cold."

Ellie nodded. But her teeth were chattering. Jim walked across the deck and handed her his coat. "Here. You'll feel better."  
Ellie nodded, sliding into it. It was warm and a little big on her, and she felt herself flushing.

"You're turning pink."  
Ellie's head snapped up. "No, I'm not!"  
"Yeah, you are."

"No, I'm not! Jim, stop being annoying!"

Ellie felt her face. It was hot. Ellie swallowed. She was afraid he'd detect something.

Jim started to laugh. "You _like _me, don't you?"  
Ellie glared. "I do _not_!"  
"Yeah, you do!"  
"Oh, please. Like _you_? Like I'm psychotic or something."  
"I can tell!"  
"No, you can't!"

Silver's voice resonated throughout the ship from the galley. "Both of you shut your traps before I come up there and shut them for you!"  
Jim lowered his voice. "You like me."  
Ellie forced a bitter laugh. "The heavens will explode before _I _admit that I like you."

A scream from Onus, the lookout, made Ellie and Jim look up.

Amelia came out of her quarters. "Mr. Onus?" she asked.

She was answered by a high-pitched squealing.

"For heaven's sake, Mr. Onus!" she shouted. "What's wrong?"  
"I hate to be negative, Captain!" shrieked Onus. "But the heavens are exploding."  
Despite the grave circumstances, Jim burst out laughing. "_Now _will you admit the truth, Ellie?"  
Ellie glared.

"Everyone to your posts!" shrieked Amelia, running aimlessly through the ship.

Ellie got up, running to the galley, shoving past Silver, and tying cabinets together, securing things down. Last, she tied down the galley doors.

Jim began to climb the rigging to help with the sails.

"Mr. Hawkins!" cried Amelia. "Secure all the lifelines!"  
"Aye, Cap'n!" Jim called back, securing each lifeline, making sure the knot was good and tight and unbreakable.

"Lifelines secured, Cap'n!" he yelled back.

"Good man!" called Amelia.

"Captain!" shrieked Onus. "I hate to be negative, _again_, but the star Permusa, has exploded, and it's devolving into a black hole, which we are about to be sucked into!"  
Great waves of light pushed the ship away, rocking it. A sudden slam knocked the crew back with a great force. Ellie slammed against the side of the ship.

She grabbed an empty life line and knotted it around her waist. With the ship lurching, it was hard to make a good knot.

The ship was sinking lower and lower into the black hole.

"The next wave!" cried Onus. "It's coming, Captain!"

"Of course," whispered Amelia, her green eyes lighting up. "We'll ride that last wave out of here! Hang onto your lifelines, gents, it's gonna be a bumpy ride!"  
"ELLIE! JIM!" roared Silver, grabbing the two of them, shoving them against the mainmast, and scrunching down over them.

There was a moment of stillness, of darkness, and the air was slowly leaving Ellie's air passages. She let out a gasp.

"Ellie," breathed Jim next to her, finding her hands. His fingers were cold.

She was still wearing his brown jacket.

"Jim," whispered Ellie. "I _do_ like you. Since we won't live through this, I thought I might as well tell you."  
"Yeah, Ellie," said Jim. "I...I like you too."

Suddenly, there was a blast of light, and they let out a gasp of air as sweet oxygen was sucked into their lungs again. The ship slowed to cruising mode. The supernova was over. Permusa was at a normal state again.

Ellie flopped against the ground like a dying fish for a moment before sitting up.

She looked at Jim, who smirked at her.

"That was the lack of air talking," Ellie said, sliding off his jacket and passing it to him.

"Sure," said Jim, the airy smirk still on his face.

"That sure was remarkable, Cap'n," said Silver, removing his hat momentarily.

Amelia shrugged. "Oh, tish-tosh. Mr. Arrow, all lives accounted for?"  
Silence.

Amelia looked around. "Mr. Arrow?"  
Scroop, the red crab man sidled forward, holding a spacer's hat. "I'm sorry. I'm afraid...Mr. Arrow has been lost."

Amelia took the hat from him. "What..."

"His lifeline...was not _secure_."

Amelia turned to Jim, her eyes accusing.

Jim's eyes widened. "No, no! I checked them all!" He pushed through the crowd of aliens, mouth falling open as he saw the empty hook where the rope had hung. "_No_!" he exclaimed in shock. "I checked them all!" He turned to Amelia. "I swear."

Amelia glowered. "We don't need your swearing," she snapped. "Go belowdecks." She cleared her throat. "Mr. Arrow was...a fine spacer. Finer than many of us...could ever hope to be." She swallowed. "Resume your posts. We carry on."

Ellie looked at Amelia for a long time and she realized something she had never seen before.

Amelia Smollet was crying.

_ELLIE_

_The Dress_

Ellie stared at Jim.

He had been sitting in a depressed state for roughly an hour, staring at his hands, rubbing his wrist. Ellie had made him coffee, and he was attempting to drown his worries in it.

"Jim," Ellie finally said, pouring him a fourth cup, which he downed and shoved at her again.

"_No_," Ellie said, shoving the coffee cup back. "Listen, Jim, you're gonna need to calm down. This is space. Accidents happen."

Jim glared. "I _killed _Mr. Arrow."

Ellie shook her head. "No, you didn't. It was an accident."  
"I _killed _him."

"No." Ellie forced a bitter laugh. "You think you're the first person on this ship to make a mistake like that, you're wrong. It's happened before."  
Jim stood up, banging his chair. "Look, don't you get it? I _screwed up_! I thought for two seconds that _maybe I could do something right_. But...I just—" Jim let out a groan as he walked away from her. Halfway, he leaned against the wall. "I just—I—I don't know."

Ellie's eyes filled with tears. "Are you mad?"  
Jim turned. His eyes were wet, too. "You sound like my little sister."

Ellie was silent.

"It makes me miss her."  
Jim walked over to her. "Look, Ellie. I know. I know it's just so...damn complicated, okay? I know what's happening. You're just—how come you didn't stick up for me?"  
Ellie turned away. "You can't blame me for your problems, Jim."  
"Ellie, please—"

Ellie walked up the stairs. "Good night."  
"Ellie, _wait_. Just let me—"

"_Good night_."

In her room, Ellie slammed the door.

She walked to her bed and was about to lie down when she saw the brown wrapped package.

For Ellie.

She ripped it open.

And Natalie's dress laid perfectly folded up inside. Ellie lifted it out as if it were made of gold. She held it up to the bare light in her room. Mom's Dress.

Ellie did a little dance. "Mom's dress, right here, in my room!" She smelled it. Natalie used to smell like gingerbread and peppermint. This smelled like the inside of a dress shop. Well, of course it did.

Years had passed.

And the world had changed.

Ellie slept, and prayed that her old Nathaniel Flint nightmares wouldn't return to haunt her. After all, she did have a brand new day to look forward to.

And a brand new dress.

_JIM_

_I Can't Stop Thinking About Her...But Why?_

His mind was filled of her.

Her straight brown-red hair with the light blonde highlights streaked throughout. Her sea blue eyes, her tanned skin, her legs spread out beneath her faded shorts. How she'd look in that stunning above-the-knee blue dress. And the feel of that small, white puckered scar at her wrist. How it had felt to hold her small warm hand and walk along with her on the cobblestoned streets of Notre Dame. He hadn't meant to hurt her. But he had.

"Crap," Jim swore in his worn hammock. "Why did I have to hurt her like that?"

"Eh?" said Onus, turning over. "You want to make Ellie happy? Why? Why does _she _deserve it?"  
"Shut up," Jim muttered.

"Buy some flowers for _me_."  
"Shut up," Jim said again, more fiercely. "You annoying little creep."  
Onus turned over. "If you like Ellie, just tell her. She'll accept you."  
"Not after the way I treated her."  
Onus spoke over his shoulder. "Look, boy, I've known her much longer than you. Take my word for it. Go see her in the morning. Before Silver wakes up and beats your rear. You go do that."  
"Yeah," Jim said softly. "Yeah, I will."  
"Try to get some sleep, boy."  
"Yeah."

He tried.

But he couldn't.

Before the sun came up, he went.

He tiptoed across the front deck, found Ellie's room, and slipped in, quiet as a mouse.

She was asleep, lying on her creaky old mattress, her thin blanket rumpled around her knees. Her shorts were hiked up to her thighs, and her tank top had slipped up to the top of her stomach.

Jim pulled down her tank top, and pulled the blanket up to her chest. She let out a little sigh. Her hair was messed up and spread across her pillow. Jim touched her cheek gently with the edge of his finger. He wanted her so bad it hurt. But he didn't want to tell her.

He just wasn't that type of romantic guy.

He pushed hair back out of her eyes. She wasn't exruciatingly beautiful, like his old girlfriend, Ariel, had been. She was just _plain pretty_. And in some ways, that was better than excruciatingly beautiful. For one thing, he felt easier talking to Ellie. Better than talking to goddess material girl who was a year older than him and only cared about kissing, kissing, and touching. So, naturally, that was the bomb on that relationship. And many countless other ones before that.

I want to make one last, thought Jim miserably. Ellie may be my only chance.

Jim leaned down. He wanted to kiss her so bad.

Suddenly, her eyes fluttered open. She took him in, let out a scream, and fell to the floor, tangled in her blanket.

"Ellie, Ellie!" hissed Jim, desperately trying to find her through the blanket. He did.

"_Jim_?" she exclaimed loudly.

He pressed a hand over her mouth. "Shhhh," he whispered. "I just wanted to see you."

Ellie blinked. "See me?"  
Jim nodded. "I thought about what I did last night. I hurt you, didn't I?"  
Ellie shrugged. "It doesn't matter."  
Jim sat down next to her. "But it does." He leaned forward. Ellie stared at him for a moment before ducking away and standing up. "You want coffee?"  
Jim smiled. "You can't drown your worries in coffee." He was hurt that she had pushed away his attempts at a kiss, but he stood up anyway with her.

She shrugged. "Early breakfast?"  
"No food. Just fun. Let's do something."  
"What?"  
Jim smiled mischievously. He took her hand and led her out to the front deck. "Dance with me."  
Ellie laughed nervously. "Dance?"  
"Yeah."  
"Here?"  
"Here."  
"Now?"  
"Now."

Ellie laughed again. "We have no music."  
Jim wrapped his arm around her waist. "Then you sing."  
Ellie snorted, and a trace of the old carefree Ellie was back. "Me? Sing? No. _You _sing."  
Jim smiled. "Maybe in private I'll sing for you. But not now."  
"So now what?"  
Jim took her hand. "We can still dance with no music."  
"No we can't."  
"Don't worry. We still can. Just stay with me."  
Ellie did.

They danced slowly, around the deck.

Ellie finally leaned forward. "Thank you for buying the dress," she said in a hushed whisper.

"You're welcome."

"No, really," Ellie said quietly. "I've never had something so special to call my own. Thank you. It means a lot to me."  
Jim grinned. "Yeah, Ellie. You got it."

They danced some more quietly.

"You don't seem to understand," Jim said finally. "I want you so bad, Ellie. So, so bad. I just can't get through a single night's sleep without thinking of you. Only you."  
Ellie stopped dancing. "_What_?"  
"Please don't say anything!" Jim said quickly. "Just wait for a second. I just really, really like you. And I know now's not the time. So I'll...wait, okay?"  
Ellie stared at him. "Jim..."  
"Do you like me?"  
Ellie was quiet. "Yes."  
"Would you be willing to go out?"  
Ellie looked up. "Yes," she said finally.

Jim nodded. "I know. It's hard to take in; you're going out with gorgeous me."  
Ellie swatted him. "Jim!"  
Jim smiled. "We'll talk about this later. You wanna do something else? Sneak into a longboat?"  
Ellie nodded. "Absolutely! But what if Silver notices?"  
"He won't."  
"Fine with me."  
They got into the longboat, and Jim laid down, putting his arms behind his head. Ellie sat on the floor next to him, placing her cheek against his stomach.

"Jim," said Ellie.

"Wha?"  
"You said that in private you'd sing for me."  
"Yeah."  
Ellie looked up. "So sing?"

Jim choked. "What? You mean actually sing now?"  
Ellie nodded. "Please? Pretty please? I wanna hear you."  
"My voice sucks, Ellie. You're gonna pray for me to stop."  
Ellie laughed. "No. No, I won't. I promise. It can't be worse than mine."  
"Promise me one thing," said Jim.

"Mmmm?"

"If I sing, you kiss me."

Ellie was taken aback. Then she relaxed. "Yeah, I will."  
Jim nodded. "Then I'll sing for you. Ready?"  
Ellie smiled.

Jim began to sing. "_I am a question to the world, not an answer to be heard, or a moment, that's held in your arms. And what did you think you'd ever say? I won't listen anyway. You don't know me, and I'll never be what you want, made of pain."_

Ellie sucked in her breath. It was the most beautiful voice she'd ever heard. Gravelly, and a little deep, and just Jim. She loved it.

The song was long and lovely. It had a unique tone Ellie fell in love with.

"_And I want a moment to be real. Wanna touch things I don't feel. Wanna hold on and feel I belong. And how can the world want me to change? They're the ones that stay the same. They don't know me, but I'm still here."_

Ellie leaned up and brushed her lips against his cheek. "That song was perfect. I love it."

Jim smiled. A little sadly. "Only a kiss on the cheek?" he asked.

Ellie grinned. "For now," she promised him.

He shrugged away the pain. "I'm glad you liked it."  
"Promise me you'll sing for me some other time. Again. Anytime I ask it."  
"Promise me you'll stay with me."  
Ellie leaned into him. "I'll stay with you. Forever and ever and ever."

"Forever's a long time."

Ellie smiled and breathed in his wonderful scent. "But I'll be with you."  
Jim pressed his lips to her forehead, hugging her hard. "Yeah?"

"And that'll be perfect enough."

_ELLIE_

_Treasure Planet_

The ground was mossy, and the trees were like chicken feet reaching up into the yellow sky. Ellie walked next to Jim, Amelia and Silver led, and the crew lagged behind, holding shovels and pickaxes and sacks for the money.

"The grave is that way!" called Silver. "Remember, lads, we buried old Flint in the heart of Treasure Planet. Near the portal, under the Moneyhunt Tree."

Some crew members nodded politely. Onus murmured: "Bless his soul, that Flint. He was an amazing moneyhunter. We loved him, we did."  
"Wow, Flint!" Jim exclaimed. "I can't wait to see how he really looks. Well, how his skeleton looks. And all that money! That'll be enough to keep the Inn going for centuries!"  
Ellie swallowed. "Yeah!" she tried to pretend she wasn't shaking and numb and afraid all over. But she totally was.

They stopped in a valley. A huge tree towered up.  
"The Moneyhunt Tree," the crew members murmured spookily. "Remember when we hid Abel Trent's gold under that tree? And Flint made us all blood promise never to tell?"  
Ellie was shaking. Flint made blood promises all the time. With _others' _blood. Including hers.

"And bless his wife's soul," Onus kept saying. "Natalie? Right, men?"  
Some nodded and muttered their agreement.

"She was beautiful, warn't she?" Onus said. He turned, swiveled towards Ellie. "Looked a bit like you." He looked suspiciously at her, his eight eyes traveling up and down. "Looked _a lot _like you, Ellie."  
Ellie swallowed. "Coincidence."

Onus snorted. "Some coincidence. There's something mighty fishy here."  
Ellie flamed. "Just your stench."  
Onus quieted and turned away from her.

"Alrighty, men." Silver said. "Here's old Flint's grave. Now. Here are the ground rules. We take the money. But you _leave the skeleton be._ No need for Flint's ghost to haunt you. We leave the dead to rest, right, men?"  
"Right!"

"Alright, so get to digging!" Silver roared. His cyborg eye flashed red for an instant.

Amelia looked at Ellie. She felt weak in the knees. Jim grabbed a shovel and went to help.

Sweat trickled down her forehead. Amelia leaned forward. "Alright, Ellie? Are you okay? Take a deep breath, sweet."  
Ellie nodded. "I'm okay, I'm okay. He's dead. He's dead."  
"Eighty percent sure!"  
Ellie whirled around. "_Eighty percent? What happened to the twenty?"  
_Amelia looked sheepish. "Well, I'm not _sure_ what happened to Nathaniel Flint, but darling, I assure you, he's dead."

"Dead."  
"Absolutely. You'll see his skeleton in a few moments and be able to live in peace."  
"What?"  
"Blimey, this can't be right?"  
"Silver, this ain't the grave!"  
"Will you make up your bloomin' minds as to where the grave is?"

"Where's the body?"

"And the money! There's only a piece of paper here!"

Silver stared down at the grave.

Ellie's voice shook. "What is it?"  
Silver shook his head. "I don't understand. I just don't understand."  
"Spit it out, Silver!" snapped Amelia, looking equally afraid.

Jim backed away from the open spot.

Silver looked at Ellie, thunderstruck. "Ellie."  
Ellie shook her head. "No. _No_."  
Silver looked at her firmly. "Ellie. His body. It's not there."  
"So that means..." Jim whispered.

Silver nodded, confirming Ellie's worst nightmares. "Nathaniel Flint never died." 

_JIM_

_Nathaniel Flint Had A Family?  
_

Jim dropped his shovel, wiping sweat off his brow. "So Flint's alive?"  
Silver nodded. "I guess so, Jimbo. I guess he's around here somewhere." Jim turned to Ellie, with a big grin plastered over his face. "Cool, huh? Nathaniel Flint's still alive! People said he's dead, but they never said how he died. That's 'cuz he never did."

Ellie's eyes were round. She backed up a little more. "I want to go back to the ship," she said softly.

Silver looked at her. "Alright, Ellie, we'll figure something out," he was saying in a whisper. "It's okay, just calm down, take a deep breath."  
"Take me back to the ship!" Ellie said, a little louder. She was beginning to sound like a whiny little girl. But why, Jim wondered. Is she so scared? Doesn't she trust me to take care of her?  
"Ellie," Jim said, reaching for her.

She drew away. "Take me back, Silver, please take me back!" she begged, hanging onto his arm.

"Alright," Silver said with a sigh, taking out his pistol and looking nervously around. "Ellie, you can go back. Jimbo, you take her, please."  
Jim nodded. "C'mon, Ellie. Let's go."

Ellie grabbed his hand with hers and pressed up close to his side. "Hurry," she whispered. "I dont want him to find us."  
Jim blinked in confusion. Ellie was weird sometimes.

"Hold it! Hold it!" Makenga, the little female cretin who managed the rigging, stepped out of the grave. "Hold your bloomin' selves! Look! Silva, there's a piece of paper down here! I think I should be the one to read it, eh?"  
"Why you?" screamed Onus. "Why not me? What have you done for this ship I haven't?"  
"I should," Scroop said in an oily voice. "I reported Mr. Arrow's death."  
"You think you're such a hotshot," Turnbuckle responded coolly. "I _drive_ this ship."

"Gentlemen!" Amelia shouted. "Please give the paper to Mr. Silver."

Silver plucked the slip of paper out of Makenga's hand. His human eye went wide, and his cyborg eye glowed as he registered all the information.

Ellie squeezed Jim's hand hard, and he felt pain issuing through his muscles.

"Dear Moneyhunters," Silver read calmly. Jim detected a tiny quaver in Silver's voice, but decided to let it go.

Dear Moneyhunters,

I thought that after I died you'd all come by and search my grave for the treasure. No, gentlemen. The money's not here. I kept this piece of paper showing that I knocked all the money into Big Ravine. You'll never get it back. It's gone, lost. You can try checking, but you'll pay for it with your lives. The Big Ravine is not kindly to strangers. And also, I'm not dead. You may have heard rumors and stories, but gentlemen, I assure you, I am very much alive. But there is a box in the hollow part of the Moneyhunt Tree. You can have _that_, it's not mine. It belongs to my dear late wife, Natalie Flint. Good job, Silver, you did a fine job of killing her and hiding the body. The police still haven't found it! And let me tell you, besides a select few, none of you are going to leave this planet. So say goodbye to those around you, and enjoy the last of your daylight.

Captain Nathaniel Flint

Jim's mouth had fallen open. "Flint had a daughter?" he turned accusingly to Ellie. "Named _Ellie_? Is that _you_?"  
Ellie swallowed. She turned to Silver. "_You killed my mom_?" she screamed. "How _could_ you? I _trusted _you! I've been living with you all these years and you were nothing but a murderer!"  
Jim grabbed Ellie and turned her around. "Answer me, Ellie! Are you Flint's daughter? I that why you were so scared when I opened the book back in Notre Dame?"  
Ellie nodded, looking straight at Jim. "That's why. Flint is my dad. And he abused me, every single day. He used to hurt me, and that's why I get those moments, like when I dropped the coffee cup back in the kitchen."

Jim stared at Ellie for a long time. Pieces refused to connect in his head. He just couldn't put them together. Flint's daughter. Ellie. Standing in front of him. Just like that. This whole time, had fallen in love with the daughter of a known murderer and pirate. Who everyone thought was dead, but was truly alive at this moment.

Ellie reached for him. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you."  
Jim continued to stare. "I really wish you did."  
"I didn't _know_ you. I didn't know if I could trust you with such a big secret."

Jim shook his head. "You should've trusted me. You should know that I'd never do anything to hurt you, Ellie."  
Ellie shook her head. She turned to Silver. "Murderer!" she spat out.

"Ellie, let me explain!" Silver shouted. "There's a story behind all this! I didn't murder your mother, at least not like that!"  
Ellie burst into tears. "If you didn't murder her, I'd still have a mother! And I'd never even be in your life, anyway! All the kindness you showed me was just a lie, wasn't it?"  
"No, no," Silver soothed, reaching for her with his metal arm.

Ellie broke away and ran.

"_ELLIE_!" Silver roared. He turned to Jim. "Go get her! This whole island is booby-trapped, and she could get hurt! Go!"  
With her heart racing, Jim shot after Ellie. He couldn't believe it.

Nathaniel Flint had a _family_? But how?  
Ellie was human, and Flint was alien.

Unless...Ellie was an alien...

_ELLIE_

_Why Couldn't I Have A Normal Dad?  
_

Ellie was running.

Her dream was coming true. She was running. And to think: if it wasn't for Silver, she wouldn't be an orphan! She wouldn't be alone, alone, alone, alone.


	2. continued

All she was doing was chasing after nothingness.

She heard footsteps behind her.

Flint!

Ellie ran faster, her feet pounding the ground, almost slamming into a tree, swerving curvedly around it, and picking up her pace. Suddenly something snaked out, lashed against her foot, and yanked her upside down.

Upside down, her eyes widening as the ground caved in right in front of her. A sucking sound came out of the bottom, and the rope around her ankle let go as she dropped. With a sickening thud Ellie crashed into the ground. She twisted around, staring up at the gaping hole in the ground. Within seconds, a face appeared at the top.

A long bronze colored face, with two flared nostrils, great uneven white gleaming fangs coming out of a huge mouth open into a ghastly sneer, and six yellow eyes with red slits for pupils.

He wore a long black coat and looked just as scary as he did when Ellie was a child.

Scarier.

More bloodthirsty.

Flint burst into laughter. "Ellie? My own daughter ended up in my trap for Long John Silver!"

"Long John Silver?" Ellie echoed, her words radiating fear. "Why do you have a trap for Silver?"

Flint growled a low note. "Do you not know what he did to me?"

Ellie shook her head, praying that if she stalled, Flint would walk away and leave her alone to die alone. And why hadn't anyone come to look for her?

Ellie was shaking completely, sweat dripping down her face. Out of the corner of her eye, up in the woods, she spotted another face. A face with dark brown hair, a braided sailor's ponytail, and blue-gray eyes. Worry was written all over his face.

Don't worry, he mouthed. I'll get you out.

Ellie pressed herself against the back of the pit, almost crying.

Flint leaned against a nearby tree and nodded. "It's all about how good Silver was. When really he wasn't at all. So, we're moneyhunting, Ellie, and out of the blue, Silver says he has to go." Flint burst into a bitter laugh, with a hacking cough coming directly after. "Hell, if I know Silver, I know that he wouldn't give up money for the devil himself. So I go after Silver and see what he's up to, thinking, maybe he found a bigger moneyhunt place. But then I realize he's going into my house."

Ellie froze, her heart rate speeding up entirely.

"So I follow him, right, and I see he's talking to my wife, Natalie. I think it's just something out of the blue, because he comes over and speaks with her a lot. But then I hear him saying something. Then my own trusted friend and ally says, 'Drink this. I'll take Ellie, keep her safe, protect her from Flint.' Protect my own daughter from me? What did I ever do to you?"

Ellie shook her head. "You never realized what you did to me? You ruined my life! Every single day I lived in fear to see what you'd do to me!"

Flint's six eyes narrowed. "You little—" Then he grew calm. He smiled in the cruelest way possible. "You'll see," he said. "I've been managing my anger carefully, waiting for the day I could expose what Long John Silver did to me. So listen carefully, and I'll save the killing for later."

Ellie shuddered.

"Anyway, so then Silver and Natalie agreed. To protect you, Natalie drank the potion, and it killed her. He tried to protect the fact that he killed my wife by laying her on the floor, surrounding her with flowers and candles, and stupid little trinkets he thought would make her corpse happy or something. Then he took you and ran out the door."

Ellie held her breath.

Flint went on. "Yeah, I stopped him. I shot at him, he shot at me. And in his fear, he dropped you, so I decided to shoot you. Maybe there was chance Silver and I could still be friends. But he wasted his friendship with me to protect a worthless little runt like you."

Ellie pulled her knees to her chest. "Go on."

Flint continued. "He picked you up and shot me. Or so he thought. I dropped to the ground and pretended to be dead. He took you and ran. I had no idea where he was going with you, so I decided not to pursue him. Instead, I took a longboat to Treasure Planet, dropped all my money into a ravine, dug myself a grave, wrote the letter, placed it in my grave, closed up the hole, and lived in a cave." He laughed sourly. "Fourteen years alone in Treasure Planet. Too bad for me. But finally, Silver has returned. And I can take revenge on him."

Ellie's voice shook with anger. "So...my mom agreed to the death. Silver wasn't a murderer."

Flint shrugged. "No. But he ruined my life."

Ellie flamed. "You should've gotten a taste of your own medicine. You've ruined more than just one life, Flint."

Flint smiled and examined his long sharp claws. "Is that a compliment, sweetie?"

Tears flowed down Ellie's face. "Don't you dare hurt Silver!"

"He's a liar and a murderer. I am your father."

"He was more of a father to me than you ever were."

Flint's eyes narrowed, all six of them. Then another cruel spiteful smile. "Now, well, if you wanna be an ungrateful wretch, I'm alright with it. I'm ready to kill you now, anyway."

Flint grabbed his long pistol, pushed the butt of it against a boulder. Ellie rose to her knees, then her feet and rushed to the entrance. "Don't, Flint!"

Suddenly, rocks skidded down the muddy slope and straight down for Ellie. Ellie screamed in horror and backed against the wall.

"Buried alive," said Flint cruelly. "Gone. Without a trace. Disappeared off the face of the earth."

"Why?" Ellie cried. "Why are you doing this to me? Why do you hate me so much?"

"Because," Flint said. "You deserve it. And you'll die alone, without a single person to help you."

Ellie let out a shuddering gasp.

A yell from above caught her attention. "Leave Ellie alone!"

Ellie tilted her head up. "Jim!"

The pistol banged . "NO!" Ellie howled.

A body fell from the top, and crashed into the ground.

Rocks fell through the opening and all around them.

With a scream, Ellie sprang at Jim, curled over his limp body, and pressed her forehead to his neck. "Please don't be dead," she whispered.

Within seconds the whole pit was total darkness.

Buried alive.


	3. Chapter 3

JIM

Just Kiss Me

Ow.

That's the first thing Jim felt. Total soreness over his entire body. He felt a crick in his neck and shooting pain right near the side of his forehead, on his left temple. He brought his fingers up and probed the wound. He looked down at his fingers through blurry vision and saw sticky red stuff.

Blood. Yeah, great. He was bleeding.

Crookedly, he sat up. The first thing he saw was Ellie. She was asleep, curled up in tons of rock. Was she asleep or...

"Ellie," he whispered. His throat constricted. He couldn't breathe. He picked up a stone and tossed it, bouncing it neatly off the side of Ellie's head. She sat up, debris tangled in her straight hair, and looked at Jim.

Then she screamed. "Thank God!" she shrieked, crawling over to him and hugging him tight. "You're alright! You're not dead!"

"No, I'm not," Jim said grimly. "Not yet, anyway. Ouch, Ellie, you're sitting on my face."

Ellie dropped to the ground, letting go. "Sorry."

Jim shook his head and cracked his neck. "No worries...ow. Crap, this hurts. How long have I been out?"

Ellie shrugged. "Flint pushed you, Jim." Her face fell. "I thought—I thought you got shot. I thought you died and I—"

Jim smiled and offered her his hand. She took it, and he pulled her up to the rock bed he was sitting on.

He stared at her. "I just have a question. Promise you won't freak out."

Ellie leaned back. "Yeah, Jim. I won't freak out."

Jim rested his arms against his knees. "If Flint's an alien, but you're human, and Flint's your dad, how are you not alien?"

Ellie stared at him. "Wait—you thought I was alien?"

Jim looked sheepishly at her. "So you're not?"

Ellie let out a sharp sigh of annoyance. "Hell no! I'm human, as you can plainly see. Flint's not my real dad. He liked my mom, so he killed my dad one day and took my mom, not knowing she was pregnant. When I was born, he hated me. He never wanted a child. So he took his anger out on me. But luckily, Silver was there to help most of the time."

Jim shook his head. "I'm sorry. I thought—I don't know. You defenitely look human."

Ellie nodded. "Yeah. Thanks."

Jim snorted. "I can't believe I thought that. I mean, you're not even close to alien, Ellie. You're...you're beautiful, that's what you are."

Ellie froze. "What?" She felt her heart speed up. She felt the tension in the air. Did he really mean that?

"I mean it," Jim exclaimed. "Seriously, Ellie. I'm ready to stop being just friends and be together. Aren't you?"

Ellie was silent.

Jim looked at her crestfallen, confused expression and realized he'd jumped to the wrong ridge, again. Wrong, wrong, wrong! Crap! He was doing everything wrong. He shook his head.

"I'm sorry—again. I thought it would be the right thing to say. I mean, I thought you liked me too! You said so. And I like you, Ellie. I really like you. And I might even love you. And I want you to know that I'd do anything for you. All you wanted, I can be. Because you see the things in me that no one has ever seen before. And I just—I want that, Ellie." He looked at her for a long time. "I want you."

Ellie was quiet, then she burst out laughing. Her pretty chiming laughter echoed through the cave. Her laughter made Jim laugh, too. "What's so funny?" he exclaimed. "I didn't think my speech was that bad."

Ellie shook her head, tears running down her face, still laughing. "It was great, Jim. It was perfect, it was wonderful, it was amazing. You're amazing."

Jim smiled. "So does that mean you like me? As in actually like me? So that speech wasn't all that worthless?"

Ellie wrapped her arms around his neck. "No."

Jim looked at her. "Kiss me, Ellie."

Ellie blinked. "Here? In public?"

Jim shook his head. "We're underground. What public are you talking about? Just kiss me!"

And so she did.

Their lips joined, pressing against each other, forcing each other back and forward. Jim pressed his fingers under her sleek jawline, probing her neck. Ellie pushed the palms of her hands against his shoulders. When the finally broke away, they were both panting. Ellie pushed a sweaty clump of hair off her forehead and leaned back against Jim, shaking. Jim wrapped his arms around her and ran his cold fingers through her hair.

Ellie kissed him again, her lips whispering gently like butterflies against his. Jim smiled at her. "I love that."

Ellie nodded. "I love it too." She wound her fingers through Jim's bangs, twisting it gently. They sat there together in the darkness, hoping that someone would find them, but until then, they had each other.

ELLIE

The Rescue

"Ellie? Jimbo? Answer me! Are you two down there?"

Silver's voice cut through the silence like a hammer shattering glass. Ellie sat bolt upright, prodding Jim awake. He raised his head, which had been lying on her lap with his fingertips pressed against the cut on his forehead. Sticky blood covered his fingers as he sat up, but Ellie didn't care. She tilted her head up. "Silver? Silver, we're down here!"

"Are you two alright?" his voice sounded more urgent as he dug harder, pebbles and small stones falling down. Ellie grabbed Jim's hand and pulled him to where a small shaft of sunlight shone through.

Silver knocked a big rock out of the way, and it thundered down past Jim. He craned his neck upward. "Silver? You better stop digging or else you're gonna kill one of us."

Ellie giggled nervously.

Silver's anxious face appeared at the top. He reached his metal arm down as far as it would go, elongating it with clicks and whirrs.

"Go," Jim urged Ellie, helping her up to the first pile of rocks. Ellie reached for the hand. Jim followed close behind, scoping upward into the cone shaped room. Jim lifted up Ellie carefully, hoisting her up higher. Ellie slipped her hand into Silver's metal hand. Silver began to pull her up, and Jim grabbed onto Ellie's leg tightly. Sweat poured down off Silver's head as he yanked them both up to the top.

He pulled Ellie and Jim into a hug. He shook his head at Jim. "When I sent you two save Ellie, I didn't know you'd pretty much jump into a trap yourself."

Jim grinned.

Silver whacked him on the back, panting. "I came as fast as I could. Amelia and I hid from Flint, and he bribed the crew and they all went with him, looking for us. Amelia got shot, but we started up the Legacy, and we're ready to leave." Silver looked gravely at both of them. "Are you two?"

Ellie nodded furiously. "Ten minutes on Treasure Planet and we've already been buried alive."

Jim pushed past Silver. "Let's move! Now!"

Silver, Ellie, and Jane raced through Treasure Planet, weaving through tall trees silhouetted against the stark yellow sky.

"He's started up the traps," Silver roared to the two of them, running as fast as he could, sweat dripping off his forehead, his huge round belly jiggling up and down.

"What traps?" Jim yelled.

"The traps," Silver wheezed. "The ones surrounding the entire island. While he was living here, he made like thirty and set them up to blow sky high when people intruded."

Ellie swallowed.

"I guess we'd count as intruders, then," Jim murmured.

Silver raised his eyebrows. "Considering we're running for our lives through this damn planet, I'd say we are intruders, Jimbo."

"Shut up," Ellie begged. "Let's just get out of here!"

"There's the Legacy!" cried Jim. "We're so close!"

They raced up the stairs onto the front deck, where Amelia was leaning against the mainmast.

"Ellie dear!" she called, reaching up. Ellie bent down and wrapped her arms around Amelia. "Amelia, are you okay?" she whispered.

"I was worried!" Amelia exclaimed in her British accent. "I told Silver that you should have stayed in the ship! What did that doubtless, pestilential—"

"It's nothing, Amelia," Ellie reassured her. "We're getting out of here now."

"I'm starting the ship!" Silver shouted. "Jim-bo! You secure the sails now, boyo!"

"Yeah, Silver!" Jim yelled back and began to climb the rigging.

Ellie got the first aid kit from the galley, came back to the front deck and helped Amelia into her own room. Then carefully she began to bandage Amelia's gunshot.

"That pus-filled festering boil shot me," Amelia snarled. "When I wasn't looking. Right in the side. Oh, sweet Queen Elizabeth, this hurts!"

"Sorry," Ellie whispered. "I'm trying my best, Amelia."

Amelia groaned, writhing on the bed, clutching her side as Ellie cleaned out the fresh wound. Blood stained the linen-white bandage as she wrapped it tightly around Amelia's tiny waist.

"Go," Amelia said weakly. "Help Silver and Hawkins. Go."

Ellie stood. "Are you sure?"

Amelia sighed. "Go, honey. I'll be fine."

Ellie hurried up the stairs to the front deck. The ship had lifted off the ground and was gently cruising forward.

"Jimbo!" Silver yelled. "Drive for me, will ya? I need to go."

Jim turned. "Where? Go where?"

Silver looked embarrassed. "Uh, the little pirates' room."

Ellie giggled. Jim shook his head. "Alright, Silver." Jim grabbed the wheel as Silver rushed belowdecks. Ellie walked up to where he was, happy to finally get out of this godforsaken planet.

"Yes!" Jim exclaimed. "Ellie, we are so out of here!"

"Not yet you ain't," came a voice from behind them.

Ellie whirled around. "Jim!"

Jim turned, too, letting go of the wheel momentarily to see what had scared Ellie.

And he gasped.

JIM

Hanging On For Dear Life

Jim was absolutely frozen, with no idea what to do.

He just stared at Nathaniel Flint, forgetting to steer as the ship lurched uncontrollably from side to side. Next to him, Ellie was trembling and clinging onto his arm.

Flint just had this cruel spiteful grin on his face that showed off his fangs.

"Jim, do something," Ellie pleaded.

Jim just stared. Then he grabbed his pistol out of his belt and pointed it at Flint. "Get—back," he hissed venomously.

Flint shook his head and took a step forward. "You think a little gun will scare me off?" he barked, coughing, phlegm flying out of his open jaws. Ellie covered her mouth with her hand, reeling back in disgust.

Flint took another step forward. He was bleeding from the head. "Knocked into a tree," he laughed, rubbing the bleeding wound. "But a tree won't stop me. Nothing will stop me. Not even if lightning strikes me!" Flint yelled into the wind. "I will get my revenge!"

"Take it easy," Jim muttered.

Flint started forward,but suddenly, with a loud yell, Silver jumped on top of him. "Hands on the wheel!" Silver yelled, rolling across the front deck with Flint on top of him, growling and cursing and punching. "Don't let it roll into the exploding traps!"

Ellie whirled around and screamed as the ship charged into one of the explosions. A fiery trail exploded up in front of them, red hot sparks flying and settling across the ship.

"Stamp them out!" Jim yelled at Ellie. Ellie stamped them up, twisting her heel against the sparks, trying to extinguish them desperately.

With a roar of anguish, Flint shot at her.

"Ellie!" Jim cried, twisting around. "Watch out!"

Ellie turned quickly, kicking Flint in the face and making him fall down the stairs back onto the front deck, where Silver caught him and they began to fight again.

Ellie ran back up where the ship slammed against each wall.

"I can't control it!" Jim yelled desperately. "It won't move at all!"

"Do something before I lost it!" Silver roared.

"Sorry!" Jim yelled back.

"Jim, the next trap is right ahead!" Ellie screamed. "Turn the ship!"

"I can't!" Jim screamed back.

"Turn it!"

With both of them screaming, the Legacy crashed into the next trap, the explosion knocking the ship back. Ellie flew over to the side and smashed against the wall.

She raised her head. "Jim? Silver? JIM!"

There was no one on the deck. Wait. There was Silver. He was moaning and writhing on the deck, blood leaking through his heavy coat. Ellie rushed to his side. "Silver, are you okay?"

"Where's Jim?" Silver groaned. "Find him! Where is he?"

Ellie twisted around. "Jim? Jim, answer me!"

"Ellie!" she heard a weak cry.

She rushed to the side of the ship and looked down. Clinging to a ridge on the wall was Jim, his legs swinging below him. Ellie jumped off the edge, balancing precariously on a swaying ledge, and crawled to the end of it.

"Reach for my hand!" she called.

Jim stretched as far as he'd go, then gave up with a sigh. "Ellie, I can't."

Tears ran down Ellie's face. "Try, Jim. Try!"

Jim shook his head. "I—I can't! I'm sorry."

"Please," Ellie begged. "Please, Jim, you have to try."

She got down on her belly.

"No!" Jim yelled. "Ellie, you'll fall!"

"I don't care," Ellie told him. "Now shut up and reach for my hand!"

She wriggled forward, her heart pounding. Every minute or so the ledge swayed and Ellie would get the sensation of almost-falling off.

She could hear Flint's voice. I won't catch you if you fall.

She reached for his hand. Where the heck was Flint?

So close! Ellie felt a smile growing on her face. "Yes!" she cried. "Almost there, Jim! Almost there!"

Suddenly, the ledge jerked and Ellie felt herself being thrown forward. She screamed, and then realized she was dangling over the ledge.

Jim felt the fear as he looked at Ellie.

"Ellie!" he yelled.

"I'm okay," she called back, swinging back onto the ledge, looking alright but shaken up.

Suddenly Jim felt a sharp shooting pain in his ankle. He let out a scream and looked downward.

Flint was clinging onto his ankle, his claws firmly wedged into it. He laughed cruelly and twisted Jim's ankle, keeping his claws inside.

Jim groaned and let himself fall.

"No!" Ellie screamed at the top of her lungs.

Somewhere inside him Jim found the power to hold on and reached upward, his fingers feebly scrabbling around for a hold on the wall. His fingers hooked onto another ridge.

He tilted his face up through the blinding pain. There was no way Ellie could reach him now. They were too far apart.

He heard Ellie crying. She pulled out a pistol from her belt. "Let him go, Flint," she yelled. "Or I'll shoot you! I'll kill you!"

Flint laughed, coughing. "You think I care? You shoot me, I'll drag him down too. Now move your butt and get a stick or something to pull us up. Or I'll just drag him down. If I die, he does."

Ellie shook her head, crying silent tears.

"Go get something to pull us up," Flint repeated.

Ellie vanished.

Jim's fingers were slipping.

"Hold on, boy," Flint snarled.

Jim looked down at the monster that had hurt Ellie. He thought of the smooth white scar on her wrist and all the pain he had caused her. He kicked flint swiftly in the face, but Flint held on, digging his claws in harder.

"Agh," Jim breathed. The pain was so bad he could barely stand it.

"Put this around your waist!" Ellie called. "Jim, here!"

Jim could barely see the rope that floated down towards him, a noose fashioned by Ellie. He reached up and slipped it over his body and down, finally fastening the knot tight with his cold shaking fingers, fumbling around.

"Hurry," Flint growled below him, moaning with agony where Jim had kicked him.

"Hang on," Ellie pleaded, beginning to reel the two of them in. Jim swung away from the ridge, almost crashing into the wall before stopping his crash with his two feet which made pain sing through his lower legs.

Ellie pulled them higher, one inch at a time. He could feel the tension as thick as butter in the air as Flint hung on by simply his claws.

The pain was like shutting your ankle into a bear trap. Jim sucked in air.

Ellie swung them to a narrow ledge. "Climb up, Jim," Ellie said, and grabbed the back of his shirt, hoisting him halfway onto the ledge. His feet slipped. "Ellie!" he cried. "I can't—I'm slipping!"

Ellie reached for him, but he had already fallen downwards. But that didn't stop Flint.

Flint climbed up Jim's body, his boot stamping onto Jim's shoulders as he pulled himself up. He grabbed Ellie's arm in his claws and pushed her down as he stepped up high. Ellie tumbled off the ledge and down, grabbing onto Jim's right leg. Her scream pierced the air.

Suddenly, a gunshot sounded.

Jim looked up. Flint's body fell, crashing against him and Ellie and twisting in the air as it fell like a dancer, until finally falling facedown into the boiling hot lava. The atmosphere was silent, except for the explosions in the distance and the hiss of smoke rising from the sea of molten liquid below.

Silver leaned forward and pulled him and Ellie up onto the safety of the ledge.

Ellie wrapped her arms around Jim and Jim held her tight, and didn't even care about the pain because he was happy in the place he wanted to be.

"He's gone," Ellie whispered. "I'm free."

Silver smiled, too. "He's gone, Ellie. He's gone forever."

Jim just shook his head. He had witnessed a man die. It would forever be etched into his memory.

The three of them went back on the ship, Jim limping as his ankle hurt horribly.

"Ellie, get the first aid kit," Silver instructed. "I'll get this trashbucket going, and you bandage Jim's wound and check on the dear Cap'n."

"Sure," Ellie told him, and cleaned Jim's wound.

He writhed on the deck, moaning in agony as she cleaned it.

"Sorry," Ellie whispered. "I'll go as fast as I can, Jim."

Jim bit down on his tongue so hard he drew blood and tasted the metallic tang in his mouth.

Ellie cleaned it, applied medicine. "Works like a charm," she promised him. "Silver's own concoction," and finally bandaged his ankle with linen-white bandages.

Jim's ankle felt tight, but it felt better, he knew that.

Ellie cleaned the gash in Silver's arm, and bandaged it, too. Then she disappeared belowdecks to wash her face.

Jim just stared after her.

Her face was grimy and it had cuts and scratches all over it, but he had never loved someone more in his life.

ELLIE

Goodbye Doesn't Mean Forever

Ellie looked at her face in the mirror and almost laughed.

She was a sorry sight. Her face was scratched up and grimy and covered with a layer of fine black coal dust from being buried alive.

She leaned her face down into the sink and washed it, spreading a thin layer of clear medication on her major cuts, and washing her hands twice with soap. She wished she could sink into the tub and wash the layer of major grime away from her body.

But instead, she put on the blue dress and stared at her messy hair in the cracked mirror. Ellie grabbed a brush and brushed it silky and smooth and straight. She tied it up with some festive blue ribbons to celebrate her newfound happiness. No more would Nathaniel Flint haunt her dreams and no longer would images of him and his trusty knife stay in her mind during the day as she did chores.

But she had Jim to look forward to! A boyfriend, after fourteen years.

Ellie smiled at the mirror. I look pretty, she told herself. The dress is good on me.

Ellie started for the deck. She saw the crescent moon shape of Montressor Spaceport in the distance.

"Jimbo," called Silver.

"Yeah?" Jim said back.

"I was thinking," Silver said. "that you've done more of your fair share of work on the Legacy than any cabin boy should really do."

"Yeah?"

"And I was thinking that once we got to the spaceport, I could ask the policemen if they could...let you go."

Ellie saw Jim furrow his brow. "Let...let me go?"

"Let you go home, lad. To your family. You're community service sentence is up! Aren't you glad?"

Jim shook his head. "Silver, I really think—"

"Think what? No need to thank me now!" Silver exclaimed. "I think your dear mother should be happy to see you." Silver smiled and tossed him a few coins. "Your newest paycheck, lad. And I think she'll be happy when she sees the coins."

Jim looked at the glittering coins in his palm. "Of course she will but..."

Silver looked back finally. "But what, lad?"

Jim just shook his head. "I'll miss you. I'll miss you all."

Ellie shook her head. She just ran back to her cabin and collapsed on the bed. She expected big jarring sobs to rack her whole body, make her collapse in exhaustion. She expected curse words to spew out of her mouth like lava from a volcano. She expected huge crocodile tears that made big damp splashes on her white pillow.

But she just cried silent tears.

And that was the kind that showed you were hurt the most, at least for her.

JIM

Torn

Jim had never been faced with such a difficult decision.

As Silver docked the Legacy at Montressor Spaceport, all he could do was stare as Silver headed towards the robot policemen, and instead of giving a weekly report, explained the circumstances and told them he deserved to go home.

Part of me wants to go home, Jim thought wearily. The part that misses my mom. And my sisters. Belle. Jane. And even Kayley. But most of me just wants to stay. I just want to be with Ellie. Our relationship just started. And I don't know if I'll ever even see her again.

"Jim?"

Jim turned, and his mouth fell open.

Ellie was in the stunning blue dress. Jim grinned. "That looks amazing on you, Ellie!"

"Thanks," Ellie said modestly, looking down at the ground. "So, what's happening? With Silver? And the cops?"

Jim had a feeling she already knew, but he feigned innocence and decided to play along to her little game. "Silver thinks I've already done all I should, and that I should go home."

Ellie clasped her hands behind her back. "Tell me, Jim, do you want to go home?"

Jim shrugged. "I have no idea. I think I'm a little at war with myself here."

Ellie smiled. "Torn?"

Jim nodded, and there was a faint smile on his lips. "I'm torn."

"Jimbo!" cried Silver, hurrying up the gangplank onto the ship. "Jimbo, yer going home, boyo!"

"Congratulations, Hawkins," said robot policeman One. "You've made it past community service. Your sentence is up, we're here to take you back to the Benbow."

"Thanks," Jim said. "That's...great." He looked awkwardly at the ground. "Then I'll just say my goodbyes now."

"Make it quick," One ordered, before floating away to his solar car.

Jim looked up at Silver. "Silver? Can I have a moment?"

Silver moved closer. "Absolutely. You need a tissue?"

Jim closed his eyes. "I mean with Ellie."

Silver tugged on his collar. "I knew that. Of course. Sure, boyo. Take all the time you need."

Jim looked at Ellie. They both just stood there for a long time. He felt a pricking sensation behind his eyes. "Well," said Jim. "When I thought I'd say bye to you, I didn't know I would be so sad."

"Same," Ellie said sadly.

Jim reached out and hugged her. Ellie squeezed him tight, and the tears began to flow like rivulets down her cheeks. Jim began to cry too, and he buried his face in Ellie's neck, and concealed his lips in her long straight hair and sang in his smooth gravelly voice really softly:

"And I want a moment to be real. Wanna touch things I don't feel. Wanna hold on, and feel I belong. And how can the world want me to change? They're the ones that stay the same. They don't know me, but I'm still here."

Ellie sobbed again, the sob wracking her whole body. "Please don't go," she whispered.

Jim shook his head. "I have family, Ellie. What will I do here?" he whispered into her hair.

"Stay with me."

Jim just sighed. "I'm so sorry. I can't."

He leaned back and forced a grin. "Smile, okay? You'll be alright." He swiped an arm across his face and brushed away Ellie's tears with his thumb. "I love you," he reminded her.

Ellie opened her mouth. "I lo—"

But Amelia and Silver had come on deck.

Amelia stuck out her hand. "I was proud to work with you, Mr. Hawkins," she said. "You're a very good young man."

"Thank you, Cap'n," Jim said honestly. "A pleasure working with you too." He shook her hand formally.

"Jimbo," said Silver. "Got a bit of grease in this cyborg eye of mine, lad."

Jim laughed and gave Silver a hug. "I'll miss you, Silver. Stay out of trouble."

Silver laughed, too. "Why, Jimbo! When have I ever done otherwise?"

Jim waved at the two of them, and swallowing the lump in his throat, stepped off the R.L.S. Legacy and headed back home.

ELLIE

I Won't Forget You

I didn't get to tell him, thought Ellie with horror. I didn't get to tell him I loved him. And he's gone.

Well, not gone. At that moment Jim was limping down the hill towards' the robot policemen's solar car.

"Who would've thought?" wondered Silver aloud. "That it would've just taken one boy to make our little Ellie grow up."

Ellie turned. "Huh?"

Amelia smiled. "You like him, don't you?"

Ellie just shook her head. "It's over. I'm gonna mop the front deck."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on!" Silver said. "Ellie. This is one of these situations where you're gonna be mourning every day for this 'lost love' of yours. I think that we have to do something about it."

"What?" Ellie asked, not comprehending.

Amelia nodded. "If I may say something?"

Ellie nodded.

Amelia touched her shoulders. "You are a very lovely young woman, and you just happened to fall in love with the cabin boy. Now what I want you to do is to give me a very honest answer. Do you want to go with Jim Hawkins? He loves you, and you love him."

Ellie closed her eyes and tears leaked out. "I do love him, a lot, and I do want to go with him. But I also want to stay here."

Amelia nodded. "Well, dear, you can't do both. So here's what I'll say. I think you're old enough to make this decision by yourself. You can choose whether to go or stay, and Silver and I will support you."

Ellie stared. "You're serious?"

Amelia nodded again. "Quick, before your boy disappears."

Ellie looked at Jim. He wasn't too far away. If she ran she could catch him.

"I won't forget you, Amelia," Ellie said finally. "Or you, Silver."

Silver's eyes widened. "You're going, Ellie?"

Amelia smacked his arm. "Ellie, whatever choice you make, we completely support you. You know where we are. And you know when the Legacy docks in the Spaceport again. You can always come and visit. We won't forget you, Ellie Flint."

A lump rose in Ellie's throat, and she hugged Amelia tight. "You were always like a second mother to me," she whispered. Amelia hugged her tightly back. "You are like my daugher, Ellie," she whispered too. "And you always will be."

Ellie broke away and hugged Silver. And she actually cried.

"My little Ellie, all grown up into a young woman," Silver said, voice breaking. "I guess I didn't see it before. But you really are old enough to go off on your own now."

"What about cabin girls?" Ellie asked, voice quivering.

"Pah, cabin girls," Silver said. "There's a whole slew of 'em, roamin' this port." Suddenly, he brightened. "I have a gift for you!" he exclaimed, and hurried belowdecks.

Moments later he emerged carrying a white box.

Ellie opened it. And gasped. "Red Jack's amulet!" She squealed. "From the Seven Pirates! Silver, thank you!"

Silver laughed. "I was going to give it to you on your sixteenth birthday. But I think now is a good time."

"Yes, it is," Ellie said. "I'll wear it forever, I promise." She slipped it on. She looked at them. She had never left them before.

"Go!" Amelia laughed. "Go to your boy. Love him."

Ellie nodded. "I will."

"Run, Ellie!" cried Silver. "Run!"

Ellie laughed, her tears fading. Her boyfriend was waiting for her.

She ran. "Jim!" she called.

He turned, and realized that Ellie was coming to stay.

And he opened his arms.

JIM

The Best Gift of All

"You're going to love my sisters," Jim promised Ellie. "And my mom, too. She's really nice, when she's not nagging you half to death."

Ellie laughed.

Jim opened the narrow Benbow door, and peeked inside.

"Mom?" he asked curiously.

"Yes, welcome to the Benbow," a pretty teenage girl said. "How may I help you—holy crap, Jim!" The girl dropped her menu and raced to his side. "Jim, you're back!"

"Community service is over," Jim said with a grin. "Nice to see you again, Belle!"

"Mom!" Belle screamed. "Look who it is!"

"Jim?" Sarah exclaimed, running to him and covering his face with kisses.

"Mom," Jim said, wriggling away. "Mom, please, not now! Mom, my girlfriend's here!"

Sarah backed up. "Another one? Oh, Jim, don't you ever stop?"

Jim beckoned to Ellie, who stepped inside.

"Hi!" Belle chirped.

Ellie waved at Belle, and waved at Sarah, who smothered her in a hug. "You're not a troublemaker, are you?" she asked, holding her at arms length.

Ellie shook her head. "No, ma'am."

Sarah laughed. "Then welcome to the family!"

"Jim?" a thirteen year old girl peered down at him.

"Kayley!" Jim waved.

Kayley's mouth fell open. "You got another girlfriend?"

Jim grinned.

"Jimjimjimjimjim!" Jane came running, and Jim picked her up, twirling her. "How's my favorite sister?" he exclaimed.

"Jim, come see the present we bought!" Jane urged, pulling him upstairs. "Who's your girlfriend?"

"This is Ellie," Jim introduced Ellie to his sisters.

"Hi, Ellie!" Jane said formally. "I'm Jane. The adorable one. Wanna see Jim's present?"

Ellie giggled. "I'd love to."

"Here's the card," Jane said bossily, handing Jim a glittery construction paper card. "And here's the gift."

Jim stared. A brand new solar surfer. A glossy red one, to replace his old shabby one.

"As long as you don't get into any trouble with it," Sarah said with a small smile. "You're welcome to it."

"He's got that look on his face," Kayley said. "That 'arrest me' look."

"Shut up!" Jim said. "I'm just gonna see how well it works."

"Which means ride better leave the door open for the cops," Kayley said, and went downstairs.

Jim laughed. "It works great! They bought an awesome one."

Ellie smiled. "It's nice. But I was wondering. Can we do something?"

Jim looked at her. "What do you want to do? Walk through town? Go swimming? Hiking? Share a sundae?"

Ellie shrugged. "Anything. Watch a movie? Take a walk, fine with me."

Jim thought for a while. "Um. I think I know."

"What?"

Jim raised his eyebrows. "You wanna go for a ride?"

Ellie looked at the solar surfer and at the promise of new love on the horizon, and she smiled. "Sure."

Jim helped her on behind him. "Hold on tight," he commanded. "Where do you want to go?"

Ellie threw her head back. "Everywhere."

"That'll take a while," Jim commented with a grin.

Ellie leaned forward and rested her chin on Jim's shoulder. "Well then," she said with a smile. "We better get started."

THE END


End file.
